Witnessing teachers taking books out of students’ hands makes my blood boil. It’s definitely a button that will get a response when you push it, so hands off their choice! The library is a place for children to choose freely. Period. End of statement. If they ask for guidance, ok. I’m so grateful that no […]

Witnessing teachers taking books out of students’ hands makes my blood boil. It’s definitely a button that will get a response when you push it, so hands off their choice! The library is a place for children to choose freely. Period. End of statement. If they ask for guidance, ok. I’m so grateful that no […]

Have you ever gazed upon a box of cereal & saw a significant time in our nation’s history? Driving past a fast food restaurant have you been reminded of a national monument? Do cleaning product aisles have the emotional impact of a trip to The Louvre for you? NO!!! Me either. However, if you spend […]

I decided we need a resident artist (and art teacher) on this blog to provide knowledgeable opinions and creative insights. Knowing that Ted, Janet, and Julie were all three recently accepted into the Master’s program, I took a chance on infiltrating their artiste’ group through Tisch and offered a book bribe. Hooray! Ted accepted. So, […]

Have you ever gazed upon a box of cereal & saw a significant time in our nation’s history? Driving past a fast food restaurant have you been reminded of a national monument? Do cleaning product aisles have the emotional impact of a trip to The Louvre for you? NO!!! Me either. However, if you spend […]

Jillian and her mother gave me permission to post her book online. Then Jillian demanded I give her back the original since I’d made a copy. I have since demanded a sequel. And, no, Jillian, I am too young to retire (or retiye as you tell me). The Librarian by Jillian Patterson. Illustrated by Jillian […]

Why should you care about donating money to scholarship funds and bashes? Who gets those scholarships and what do they give back? Well…. I did and I’m trying to give back! I received a David H. Clift Scholarship from ALA 20 years ago for $3000. It paid my entire tuition for the University of Iowa […]

Allan Stratton, Michael L. Printz Honor author, continues our glimpse into Chanda’s life beyond Chanda’s Secrets in his follow-up Chanda’s Wars. Don’t worry if you missed Chanda’s Secrets, Stratton does an thorough job of providing enough background knowledge at the beginning to understand the characters and setting. Chanda’s Wars stands alone which is good because it […]

Mayra Lazara Dole’s Down to the Bone will be talked of everywhere this year in the GLBT blogs, but should be purchased for all high school collections. (Yes, I know I’m an elementary school librarian this year, but this book was amazing and I couldn’t resist reading it.) Controversial? Sure. More explicit than most novels […]